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((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV Michigan Mosque - Dwiastono
HEADLINE: Michigan's Oldest Mosque Keeps Youngest Members Involved
TEASER: Entering its 85th year, Masjid Dearborn provides religious and recreational activities for youth
PUBLISHED AT: 04/14/2023 at 10am
BYLINE: Rivan Dwiastono
DATELINE:
VIDEOGRAPHER: Alam Burhanan, Virginia Gunawan
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: KEnochs; Reifenrath
VIDEO SOURCE (S):
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:14
EDITOR APPROVAL: KE
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR’S NOTES
((INTRO))
[[The oldest mosque in Michigan is celebrating its 85th year. Located in the city of Dearborn, the American Moslem Society Mosque, one of the oldest in the United States, provides its young generation with religious and recreational activities. VOA's Rivan Dwiastono reports.]]
((NARRATOR))
The adhan, the Muslim call to prayer, is a common sound in Muslim-majority countries. It’s not so common in the United States.
Since the 1980s, the American Moslem Society Mosque in Dearborn, Michigan, has publicly sounded the call to prayer through speakers, the first mosque in the U.S. to be permitted to do so.
But the mosque's beginnings go even further back.
((Musaed Alshamahi, American Moslem Society))
"Many of the Muslims who were living in Highland Park were working for Ford Motor Company, so they moved to Dearborn, and they needed a place to worship. So, they built the ground floor of this masjid [mosque] back in 1938."
((NARRATOR))
The mosque started out as a simple structure. After four renovations, it has become a multi-level building that can accommodate over two thousand worshippers, with separate rooms for various community activities. Most congregants are of Arabic descent, reflecting the demographics of the Dearborn area. But others are immigrants from Africa and Asia.
((Yahya Alfaqih, American Moslem Society President)) ((English))
"You could find also different generations. You will find here people that just arrived, immigrants they just arrived. And also people, they live in the whole of their lives here."
((NARRATOR))
For Dearborn-area Muslims, most of whom have an immigrant background, the masjid has become more than just a place to worship.
((Yahya Alfaqih, American Moslem Society President)) ((English))
“The community around the masjid, they always look at the masjid in the center of their life and they connect their lives to the masjid on a daily basis, either for themselves or their families for their kids. And when they need help, they will come to the masjid."
((NARRATOR))
Community activities are held throughout the year, but Ramadan, the holy month spent fasting and immersed in religious study, is an especially busy time, especially for Muslim youth.
((Musaed Alshamahi, American Moslem Society))
"We have a lot of kids who memorize the Koran by heart. How many of them? Quite a few of them. And they do during the month of Ramadan. They do a Koran competition."
((NARRATOR))
The Dearborn Mosque now plans to add a gymnasium, which can also serve as a multi-purpose room for community events.
((Yahya Alfaqih, American Moslem Society President))
"That's to try to accommodate our young generation, because we want this message not only to come and pray, we want them to pray and also, we want them to play."
((NARRATOR))
While primarily a center for worship and community activities for Muslims, Masjid Dearborn is open to anyone who wants to come and learn about Islam. The mosque continues to evolve, along with the Dearborn, the seventh most populated city in Michigan, which in November 2021 elected its first-ever Muslim mayor, Abdullah Hammoud.
((Rivan Dwiastono, VOA News))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateApril 14, 2023 14:58 EDT
BylineRivan Dwiastono
Brand / Language ServiceUS Agency for Global Media, Voice of America - English
